If you haven't met your 2009 CLE requirements or want to get a head start on 2010, take a look at the TennBaru Course Catalog, with more than 300 online video programs and more than 25 online text programs available to choose from. Or sign up for the TBA's Year-End CLE Blast. Now in its fifth year, the program offers replays of 2009's top CLE programs continuously from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on each day from Dec. 28 through Dec. 31. These replays sessions will be presented at the Tennessee Bar Center with a moderator so they are accredited for live credit.

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Jeffrey G. Jones, Cookeville, Tennessee and Daniel H. Rader, III, Cookeville, Tennessee, for the appellees, Putnam County, Tennessee and City of Cookeville, Tennessee.

Judge: KOCH

This appeal involves the obligation of local governments to obtain a certificate of public purpose and necessity in order to condemn private property to develop an industrial park. Putnam County and the City of Cookeville filed a condemnation complaint in Circuit Court for Putnam County but then voluntarily dismissed their complaint to allow time to obtain the certificate of public purpose and necessity required by Tenn. Code Ann. section 13-16-207(f) (Supp. 2009). The property owner then filed a motion seeking attorney's fees and costs, as well as a separate action seeking a partition in kind, an accounting, and damages. In response, the City and the County opposed the property owner's request for attorney's fees and filed an answer in the partition case that included a counterclaim to
condemn the property. The City and the County also moved to set aside the voluntary dismissal of their original condemnation complaint. The trial court granted the City's and the County's motion to vacate the dismissal of their condemnation complaint, consolidated the condemnation and partition proceedings, and reserved addressing the property owner's request for attorney's fees. After the trial court denied its application for an interlocutory appeal, the property owner filed an application for extraordinary appeal in the Court of Appeals. After the Court of Appeals declined to grant the extraordinary appeal, the property owner renewed its application for an extraordinary
appeal in this Court. After this Court granted the property owner's application, the City and County formally abandoned their efforts to condemn the property and requested this Court to dismiss the property owner's appeal on the grounds of mootness. We have determined that the appeal should
not be dismissed for mootness and that the trial court erred by failing to dismiss the City's and the County's condemnation complaint because it had been filed before the City and County obtained the certificate of public purpose and necessity required by Tenn. Code Ann. section 13-16-207(f).

This is an appeal from a Governmental Tort Liability action against Bedford County by a former inmate in the Bedford County Jail. Plaintiff alleged that the County was liable to him for its negligent supervision of a corrections officer who allegedly sexually assaulted Plaintiff while incarcerated in
the jail. The trial court dismissed Plaintiff's claim following a bench trial upon the implicit finding that there was no evidence that any person with supervisory authority was on notice of information that would lead them to suspect a future sexual assault. Plaintiff appealed. We affirm the trial court's dismissal of Plaintiff's claims finding that the evidence in the record does not preponderate against
the trial court's findings.

In this divorce action, the trial court awarded a divorce to Wife, divided the marital property, ordered the return of the down payment on the marital residence to the parties' daughter, awarded Husband's interest in the marital residence to Wife as alimony in solido, and awarded Wife's attorneys' fees. On appeal, Husband challenges the trial court's division of property, order to return the down
payment on the marital residence to the daughter, finding regarding the value of the marital residence, award of alimony in solido, and award of attorneys' fees. Finding that the trial court abused its discretion in awarding attorneys' fees, the award is vacated. The trial court's order is
affirmed in all other respects.

This appeal arises from a petition seeking judicial review of an administrative order. The Tennessee Department of Labor, Division of Occupational Safety and Health (TOSHA) cited Dillard Smith Construction Company for violating six safety regulations that related to the fatality of a Dillard
Smith apprentice-lineman. The TOSHA Review Commission affirmed all six violations. The Chancery Court subsequently affirmed the Review Commission's findings as to five of the six violations but reversed one, concluding that the record did not support the finding that Dillard Smith failed to conduct a job briefing. Both parties appealed the Chancellor's rulings. The Commissioner contends that the Chancellor erred in reversing the finding that Dillard Smith failed to conduct the required job briefing. Dillard Smith contends that the Chancellor erred in affirming the other five violations -- that it failed to check conditions related to safety, its employee came into contact with an energized part, the cut-off switch was not opened, the line was not tested, and the line was not grounded. We have concluded that the record contains substantial and material evidence to support the Review Commission's finding that Dillard Smith violated the TOSHA regulation that required
a job briefing before beginning the first job of the day; therefore, we reverse the Chancellor's ruling that it did not. We have also concluded that the record contains substantial and material evidence to support the Review Commission's findings that Dillard Smith was also in violation of the other five TOSHA regulations for which it was cited. Therefore, we reverse in part and affirm in part.

Insurer filed an action seeking a declaratory judgment that it was not required to provide coverage to insured in lawsuit filed against insured; insured filed a counter-complaint against insurer. At the close of all proof, the trial court directed a verdict in favor of insured on insurer's declaratory
judgment action and directed a verdict in favor of insurer on insured's counterclaims of misrepresentation, bad faith, estoppel, and punitive damages. Insured's two remaining counterclaims were submitted to the jury, which returned a verdict in favor of insured for Tennessee Consumer
Protection Act ("TCPA") and breach of contract claims. Trial court subsequently awarded insured double damages and attorney's fees under the TCPA. On appeal, both parties raise numerous issues with the judgment of the trial court, some of which are without merit or as to which no relief can be
granted; such issues are dismissed. We reverse the award of double damages, vacate the award of counsel fees to the insured and remand for further consideration. In all other respects the judgment is affirmed.

The plaintiffs/appellants in this lawsuit, an adult cabaret and three female employees of adult entertainment businesses and cabarets, filed a defamation suit against a county commissioner for a statement allegedly quoted in The Commercial Appeal and repeated at other venues. The county commissioner raised several defenses to the plaintiffs' claim in a motion to dismiss or, in the
alternative, for summary judgment. On consideration of the motion to dismiss, the trial court found as a matter of law that the plaintiffs could not prove their claim and dismissed their complaint. We affirm.

This Tenn. R. App. P. 10 application for an extraordinary appeal concerns whether the trial court hasentered a final judgment in a conservatorship proceeding. The trial court entered a series of orders in late 2007 and early 2008, regarding the appointment of a temporary conservator. More than a year later, the ward filed a motion requesting the entry of a final judgment so that he could file an appeal
as of right. On September 22, 2009, the trial court denied the motion for entry of a final judgment, holding that its prior orders were final orders. We have concluded that the trial court's prior orders were interlocutory in nature and did not constitute final judgments. Accordingly, we grant the ward's application, reverse the trial court's September 22, 2009 decision and remand the case to the trial court for entry of a final judgment.

Plaintiff filed this action against his former partner alleging breach of their partnership agreement. The Special Master found that the defendant misappropriated profits of the partnership. Thereafter, the parties entered into an Agreed Order wherein the plaintiff was awarded a judgment of $38,750.00 against the defendant. The Agreed Order expressly reserved the issue of prejudgment interest for the trial court's determination. The trial court awarded prejudgment interest. Defendant appealed the award of prejudgment interest. Finding no error, we affirm.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; and Matthew Bryant Haskell, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: OGLE

The petitioner, Monolito B. Cooper, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging that his 1999 and 2002 sentences have expired due to the application of certain pretrial jail credits. The trial court denied the petition, and the petitioner appealed. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Renee W. Turner, Assistant Attorney General; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; Reginald Henderson and Ray Lepone, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WELLES

The Defendant, Donald Ragland, was convicted by a jury of one count of first degree premeditated murder. See Tenn. Code Ann. section 39-13-202. He was sentenced to life, with the possibility of parole, in the Department of Correction. In this direct appeal, he contends that: (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress a statement he made to police; (2) the trial court erred in excluding
a certified copy of a traffic citation received by the Defendant's alibi witness; and (3) the State presented evidence insufficient to convict him. After our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; and Clarence E. Lutz, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: GLENN

The petitioner, Jasper Lee Vick, appeals the Hardeman County Circuit Court's summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. The State has filed a motion requesting that we affirm the lower court's judgment pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Because the petitioner has failed to establish that his convictions are void or his sentences illegal, we
conclude that the State's motion is well-taken. Accordingly, we affirm the summary dismissal of the petition.

Chattanooga attorney Jerry Summers has accused Tennessee Wildlife officers of "judge shopping" to find jurists who will rule in their favor and at least two general sessions judges of unfairly requesting certain cases. Judges reject such characterizations saying cases are assigned randomly. Today, Judge Don Poole recused himself from the case saying he helped create the system that generates computerized assignments. Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman now will preside over the issue.

The city of Bartlett will conduct interviews with seven judicial applicants on Jan. 4 and 5. Lawyers Joseph Barton, Chris Brown, Larry Copeland, David Lakin, Henry Miller, Phillip Walker and David Willis submitted resumes for the judgeship, which was vacated on Oct. 29 with the death of Division 2 Judge George McCrary. Lakin is the court's lead prosecutor. The other six are in private practice. Not all aldermen agree on how to approach the selection: most support the interview process but several want the Division 1 judge to fill both Divisions 1 and 2 until the election in November.

Shep Wilbun wants to return to the office he held seven years, saying "...times have changed. The court has changed. I've changed..." A political comeback, though, would be about more than just an election victory -- it would be a personal victory. Wilbun lost the Shelby County Juvenile Court clerk's office in 2002 and was indicted on a charge of official misconduct. The charge was later dismissed by the district attorney. Now Wilbun must convince voters he deserves a second chance.

A complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga alleges that Polk County General Sessions Judge Bill Baliles and assistant district attorney Steven Bebb allowed divorce attorney Randy Sellers to serve as a special prosecutor in a criminal case against the same man he was battling in a civil case. Plaintiff Jeremy Hopkins said he was "absolutely astonished" when Baliles allowed private attorney Randy Sellers to prosecute a criminal case against him while Sellers was representing Hopkins' wife in divorce and custody proceedings. None of the defendants named in the suit commented on the substance of the allegations.

The federal government pledged renewed efforts Tuesday to crack down on copyright theft -- promising to aggressively pursue foreign and domestic counterfeiters of movies, CDs and other items that cost U.S. businesses billions of dollars each year. Among the efforts are a reinvigorated Justice Department task force to prosecute counterfeiting and copyright theft, increased enforcement by the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement, and a greater emphasis by the Commerce Department on global and bilateral treaties that protect intellectual property.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was in Atlanta recently to speak on the issue of responsible fatherhood as part of a White House and Department of Justice forum on "Responsible Fatherhood and Strong Communities." Holder said that being a responsible husband and father is as important as his role as attorney general, and that human services organizations must work within the criminal justice system to decrease recidivism and reintroduce incarcerated men to their families and productive society.

Russell C. Hinson, 83, formerly of Chattanooga, died Dec. 13 in Duluth, Ga. Hinson practiced law in Chattanooga from 1957 to 1962 when he was appointed to General Sessions Court. He retired from the court in 1996 and relocated to Georgia in 2004 to be near his daughter and son-in-law. Hinson earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1951, served in World War II and worked as an adjunct professor of criminal justice at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for many years. The family suggests that memorial donations be made to Brainerd Church of Christ in Chattanooga.

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